This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has leased more than 90K SF at a Prince George's County industrial complex for a new storage and repair facility.
The transit agency signed the lease with Nuveen Real Estate at 6304 Sheriff Road in Landover, brokerage firm Edge announced Monday. Edge's Kenneth Fellows, Robert Pugh and Keiry Martinez, whose firm was acquired by KLNB last month, represented WMATA in the deal.
The single-story, 540K SF building, constructed in 1963, sits on a 22-acre site about 1.5 miles from the D.C. border, less than 2 miles from Route 50 and less than 4 miles from the Beltway. The transit agency plans to starting using the space for the storage and repair of transportation equipment and elevators by the end of September.
“6304 Sheriff Road satisfied each important criteria in WMATA’s real estate search,” Pugh said in a statement. “This includes the building’s open floorplate, high ceilings and rear loading capabilities which are necessary for the movement of large pieces of equipment.”
In a separate deal announced Monday, Edge represented WMATA in the renewal of its 32K SF office lease with Bristol Capital Corp. at 8100 Professional Place in Landover.
Also this week, WMATA is opening a new office building in Prince George's County as part of its effort to consolidate its regional footprint into new spaces in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The agency signed the deal with developer Urban Atlantic in 2019 for a build-to-suit office of up to 300K SF near the New Carrollton Metro station, and it is scheduled to hold a ribbon-cutting for the office on Tuesday.
LEASES
Washington Property Co. landed a 37K SF office lease in Rockville with nonprofit The Treatment and Learning Centers, which is relocating from nearby and expanding its office, Transwestern announced Tuesday. Transwestern's Guy Copperthite represented the tenant in the deal, while Cushman & Wakefield's Peter Rosan and Kevin McGloon represented the landlord.
The nonprofit is moving a mile down the road, from the 26K SF office it has leased at 2092 Gaither Road in Rockville since 2011, to 1390 Piccard Drive, a three-story, 101K SF office building, a Transwestern spokesperson said. Founded in 1950, TLC provides a range of services including speech-language therapy and occupational therapy to children and adults with differing abilities.
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Investment advisory firm The Motley Fool is dramatically downsizing its headquarters office in Alexandria. The firm previously leased 114K SF at 2000 Duke St., but it exercised a termination option and will shrink its space in the building to 34K SF effective on June 30, the Washington Business Journal reported. A spokesperson for Transwestern, the building's leasing agent, confirmed to Bisnow that the building is in receivership, with Transwestern acting as the receiver.
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Entertainment retailer Chuck E. Cheese signed a deal to relocate one of its Montgomery County locations. The company leased 16K SF at the White Flint Plaza in Kensington, owned by Combined Properties, the Washington Business Journal reported. It will replace a 10,500 SF location at the Loehmann’s Plaza property in Kensington. H&R Retail's Brad Buslik represented the retailer, and KLNB's Joe Fleischmann and Veronica Kamara represented the landlord in the deal.
PERSONNEL
John Falcicchio, who served as Mayor Muriel Bowser's chief of staff and as deputy mayor for planning and economic development, has left the D.C. government for the private sector, Bowser's office announced Friday afternoon.
The announcement only included one line on his departure and didn't provide a reason, but Bowser said in a press conference Monday that the circumstances of his departure led her to initiate an investigation. She said the circumstances didn't involve any D.C. business transactions and that it is a sensitive matter with privacy concerns.
Falcicchio, who had been a top official in Bowser's administration since she took office in 2015, is being replaced by two other longtime administration officials. Keith Anderson, who previously led the D.C. Department of General Services, is taking his DMPED role, while Lindsey Parker, formerly deputy chief of staff, is taking the role of chief of staff.
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Keith Sellars is leaving his role as head of the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership, effective on April 14, the organization announced Tuesday. It didn't give a reason for his departure, but it included a series of statements from Sellars, the mayor and other local leaders, as well as a list of his successes at the organization. He joined WDCEP in 2003 and became president and CEO in 2011.
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David Roodberg has joined The Menkiti Group as president as the D.C. developer works to expand nationally, Menkiti announced Tuesday. Roodberg since 2003 had served as president and CEO of local developer Horning, previously known as Horning Brothers. He has also served as board chair of the Washington Housing Conservancy.
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Horning, which last month hired Jamie Weinbaum from MidCity to replace Roodberg as CEO, announced another new hire on Monday. The development firm hired Alicia Morgan as vice president of property management to oversee the management of its residential, retail and mixed-use properties. Morgan comes from PIRHL Development Co., and she previously worked at Edgewood and Vantage Management, the sister companies of developer MidCity, and at Baltimore-based A&R Cos.
MILESTONES
Pennrose and its partners celebrated the groundbreaking Thursday on a 158-unit affordable apartment project in Prince George's County. The project is the third phase of the 27-acre redevelopment of the Glenarden Apartments complex, a 578-unit property that the developer described as "distressed" in a press release. The redevelopment is slated for 424 apartments, plus rental and for-sale townhouses.
The partners on the project include the Redevelopment Authority of Prince George’s County, B&W Solutions and SHABACH! Ministries, according to the release. The project's third phase received financing from Bank of America, M&T Realty Capital Corp. and Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, plus state and county agencies.
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Jefferson Apartment Group celebrated the topping out Thursday of its Capitol Riverfront apartment project. The 12-story, 312-unit project is being built on a site at 1319 South Capitol St. SW that JAG acquired in partnership with Starwood from the Ronald D. Paul Cos. in May 2020. The building, branded as J Coopers Row, is expected to deliver in the fourth quarter of this year with amenities including a rooftop swimming pool and grilling area with views of Nationals Park.
